Imperial Scepter

Gao Chun and his four teammates, along with Liu Neng's team of five, quickly found a relatively quiet, spacious, and secluded valley.

Clearly, all nine of them were aware of the dangers of the Southern Wilderness Forest and did not want to cause too much trouble.

Gao Chun first placed Wang Hu in the shade of a pine tree to ensure his temporary safety before heading to the center of the valley with Li Daoqiu and Gao Chengzhi to face Liu Neng's challenge.

"Come on, let me see how powerful this genius with three-colored Dao seeds is!"

He pushed off the ground with both feet, his figure rushing forward like an arrow released from a bow, his fists wrapped in the light red profound energy of the four-star bronze realm, heading straight for Li Daoqiu's face.

He could tell Li Daoqiu's identity as an assassin at a glance from their positions and decided to eliminate this potential threat first.

"Daoqiu, retreat!"

With a low shout, Gao Chun instantly condensed a pale yellow Xuan power, which stood in front of Li Daoqiu like an impenetrable wall, and crossed his arms to take the blow head-on.

"boom!"

The moment their fists collided, Gao Chun felt a tremendous force travel up his arm and through his entire body. His legs plowed two shallow furrows in the ground, and he had to take five steps back to regain his balance. A sweet taste rose in his throat.

The pale red Xuan power of the fourth-star Bronze Realm cultivator far exceeded his expectations!

Liu Neng pressed his advantage relentlessly, his steps never faltering. He gathered his pale blue Xuan power at his fingertips and coiled it around Li Daoqiu's ankle.

His tactical objective remained unchanged: he still wanted to eliminate Li Daoqiu first.

"So you wanted to eliminate me first!"

Li Daoqiu understood immediately. He circulated light purple Xuan power under his feet and dodged to the side like a ghost, barely avoiding Liu Neng's grasping fingers.

Even so, a trace of light blue mystic energy still touched her ankle, causing her movement to slow down by half a beat.

A hint of smugness flashed in Liu Neng's eyes. He threw his left fist at Gao Chun and his right palm, imbued with pale yellow Xuan power, struck Gao Chengzhi. He actually wanted to fight two against one and finish the battle quickly!

Despite his young age, Gao Chengzhi was not afraid at all. He condensed his light red Xuan power into his fists and met Liu Neng's palm head-on.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Gao Chengzhi was thrown backward, his face instantly turning red, but he gritted his teeth and quickly got up, showing no intention of backing down.

Although I'm usually lazy, I never back down when it matters.

"Chengzhi, attack the lower three routes! Daoqiu, flank and attack the waist!"

Despite the danger, Gao Chun remained calm, circulating his pale yellow Xuan energy to resist Liu Neng's attacks while quickly adjusting his tactics.

He knew that there was no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation; he could only rely on tactics to dismantle the opponent's advantages.

Gao Chengzhi immediately understood, lowered his body, wrapped his knee in light red Xuan power, and slammed it hard into Liu Neng's calf.

Li Daoqiu seized the opportunity during Liu Neng's attack, condensing his pale purple Xuan power at his fingertips and stabbing towards Liu Neng's vital point on the side of his waist like a needle.

Liu Neng snorted coldly, gathering pale yellow Xuan power, sometimes at his waist, sometimes at his knees, while clenching his fists and attacking continuously.

Gao Chengzhi felt as if his knee had hit a metal plate, the pain was unbearable, and his movements became instantly sluggish.

Li Daoqiu's fingertip blade was also blocked by the pale yellow Xuan power, and it lost its strength halfway through the stab.

"Is that all you've got?"

Liu Neng smiled arrogantly, and suddenly exerted force with his right fist, forcing Gao Chun back. He then turned around and kicked Gao Chengzhi, his pale red Xuan power wrapped in a strong wind, determined to kick the little guy away.

At the critical moment, the high purity suddenly erupted!

He channeled pale purple profound energy into his legs, his movements suddenly accelerated, and he instantly circled behind Liu Neng. He then condensed pale red profound energy into his fists and slammed them hard into Liu Neng's back!

This was a tactic he came up with on a whim.

Use defense to draw attention, then use the agile purple energy to launch a surprise attack, catching the opponent off guard!

Liu Neng was shocked, never expecting Gao Chun's movement technique to be so fast! In his haste, he switched his pale yellow Xuan energy to defend his back, but he neglected Li Daoqiu in front of him.

A sharp glint flashed in Li Daoqiu's eyes. He gathered his pale purple Xuan power between his fingers and, taking advantage of the moment when Liu Neng's Xuan power shifted, precisely stabbed into the back of his right knee, a vulnerable spot that would cause him great pain.

"Ouch!" Liu Neng cried out in pain, his right leg buckled, and his knee slammed to the ground.

The pale yellow, stagnant Xuan energy instantly became disordered, and the defense collapsed on its own!

Gao Chengzhi seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, channeling his pale red Xuan power into his right fist, and slammed it hard into Liu Neng's left shoulder!

"Bang!"

The moment the fist struck, the pale yellow barrier of profound energy that had been re-formed on Liu Neng's left shoulder shattered, and he was knocked to the left.

"Now!"

With a loud shout, Gao Chun quickly circulated his purple Xuan power to increase his speed and approached Liu Neng. Immediately afterwards, a pale red fist, accompanied by the sound of wind breaking, struck Liu Neng's chest!

A hint of panic flashed in Liu Neng's eyes. He never expected that he would be forced into such a situation by three teenagers whose cultivation was lower than his own!

He used up his last bit of profound energy, turning it all into pale yellow profound energy, which he concentrated in his chest to form a thick defensive layer.

"boom--!"

The pale red fist slammed into the defensive layer, producing a deafening roar.

The pale yellow defense shattered instantly, like glass.

Liu Neng felt as if a boulder had struck his chest, his blood surging like a tidal wave. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground and sliding several feet before stopping.

He struggled to get up, but found that his internal energy was depleted and he was in excruciating pain in his chest, so he could not even stand up.

Gao Chun and the other two were also in a bad situation.

Gao Chun was jolted back three steps by the recoil, and his throat tasted sweet.

Li Daoqiu's face turned pale due to excessive consumption of his profound energy.

Gao Chengzhi slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

The valley was deathly silent, save for Liu Neng's heavy breathing and the exclamations of his four teammates behind him.

Liu Neng lay on the ground, raised his head, and looked at Gao Chun and the other two. The arrogance and contempt he had shown before were gone from his eyes, replaced by deep shock and respect.

"I...I lost?" he murmured to himself, his voice filled with disbelief.

As the young village chief of Liu Family Village, a genius with three-color Dao Seeds and a cultivation level of four-star Bronze Realm, he actually lost to three three-star youths.

But the excruciating pain in his chest and the depletion of his spiritual energy told him that this was not a dream.

"You lost." Gao Chun walked slowly to him, his expression calm, without the slightest hint of smugness. "Thank you for the concession, Captain Liu."

Liu Neng gave a bitter laugh, struggled to sit up, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "A complete defeat! Your tactical coordination and the individual strength of each person far exceeded my expectations."

He looked at Gao Chun, his eyes full of approval: "As the captain, you are calm and decisive, and your tactical command is just right."

He then looked at Li Daoqiu: "Your assassin tactics are cunning, ruthless, precise, and deadly. You are the most skilled young assassin I have ever seen."

Finally, he looked at Gao Chengzhi and said, "Although you are young, you are incredibly resilient, have amazing attack power, and show no fear whatsoever."

"It's not surprising that a team like this beat me."

The four teammates behind him had mixed feelings, shocked and unwilling, but they had to admit that Gao Chun and his two teammates had won the competition fair and square.

Liu Neng took a deep breath, took out a small jade bottle from his storage bag, and tossed it to Gao Chun: "This is a Power Gathering Pill, which can quickly restore Xuan Power. Consider it a small token of my apology."

"I was too rash today; I shouldn't have forced others to do things against their will."

He spoke sincerely, "Don't worry, I, Liu Neng, keep my word. I will take the team away now, and if there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely apologize to you."

Gao Chun caught the small jade bottle and nodded slightly: "Captain Liu, you flatter me. It was just a friendly sparring match. There's no need to take it to heart."

Liu Neng stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gao Chun and the other two, glanced at Wang Hu not far away with a hint of apology in his eyes, and then turned to the team members behind him and said, "Let's go!"

The four team members responded and followed Liu Neng as he turned and walked out of the valley.

When they reached the valley entrance, Liu Neng suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Gao Chun, a hint of resentment and expectation flashing in his eyes.

"Gao Chun! Next time we meet, I'll definitely learn a spell from you. I hope you'll cultivate diligently and advance to the fourth star of the Bronze Realm as soon as possible. Then, we'll have a proper contest!"

"I want to see whether your red, yellow, and purple Dao Seeds are stronger, or my red, yellow, and blue Dao Seeds are superior!"

Gao Chun responded loudly, his tone firm and confident: "I'm ready anytime! I'll become stronger, and I'll be waiting for your challenge again!"

Watching Liu Neng's team disappear into the dense forest, Gao Chengzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, slumped to the ground, and shouted excitedly:

"We won! We defeated a four-star Bronze Realm expert!"

Li Daoqiu also showed a rare smile and nodded, saying, "Thanks to Gao Chun's tactical command and Cheng Zhi's tenacity, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to hold on at all."

Gao Chun walked over to Wang Hu, checked his injuries, and was relieved to see that they hadn't worsened.

He poured out three of the Power Gathering Pills that Liu Neng had given him and gave one to Li Daoqiu and Gao Chengzhi: "Take these pills first to restore your Xuan power, and then we'll leave here as soon as possible."

Wang Hu leaned against a pine tree, a satisfied smile on his face: "Captain, you guys were awesome! You didn't let our Gaojia Village team down!"

Gao Chun smiled, but his resolve only grew stronger: this victory was the result of teamwork and a testament to their strength.

But the dangers of the Southern Wilderness Forest may be far from over. Only by quickly restoring our Xuan power can we truly protect those around us.

As the sun set, the golden afterglow cast long shadows of the four people across the valley floor.

This thrilling competition not only improved the teamwork of Gao Chun and his two companions, but also made them realize their potential and shortcomings.

Liu Neng's challenges became a stepping stone on their path to growth, inspiring them to constantly break through their own limits and move towards a higher realm.

The next encounter will surely be an even more spectacular showdown.